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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

A Kid's Perspective

One of the things I enjoy doing is talking to children and young adults about veterinary medicine. I have done presentations to all age groups from pre-k to pre-vet college. Last Friday I spoke to some preschool students about pet care. Today I went to my own children's school and talked to six kindergarten classes about what it's like to be a vet.

When we practice for a long time, we sometimes loose some of the awe of what we do. We have seen and done so many things that we forget when it was all new to us. And we have so many clients that don't seem to listen to us or respect our medical judgment that we forget that most people highly respect veterinarians. Being around children can remind us of the "cool" factor of our job.

When I was talking to the classes today I explained that vets do surgery. The kids were 5 and 6 years old and didn't know what that was, so I proceeded to explain. I told them that we would make them be asleep, then cut them open with a small knife called a scalpel, and the put our fingers inside. Most of the kids would go "eeewwww!", but I could tell that they were kind of excited by that. Of course, my daughter was the only one in the class that said "cool!" when the other kids were grossed out. Yes, we think she's going to grow up to be a vet.

A program I have been involved with is FutureVet. They provide online or purchaseable materials to use in making pet care and veterinary presentations to kids and students, all broken down by age groups. I brought play stethescopes to the classes, enough for each child to have one of their own. These are inexpensive toys, and aren't really functional. But they absolutely loved them. To me it's a simple and necessary piece of equipment that I use dozens of times every day and have on my person for about 10 hours a day, so I tend to take it for granted. To the kids this was something amazing and magical. When she came home, my daughter wanted to use one of my real stethescopes so she could actually listen to our pets' hearts.

Days like this help to balance out days like Monday, and remind us that we do have a pretty cool and interesting job.

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About Me

I have been interested in science and animals all of my life. When I was 9 years old I decided that I wanted to be a veterinarian. My first job was at a vet clinic in 1984, when I was fourteen. I made a few detours along the way, getting a Master's degree (MS) in 1991. However, in 1997 I did finally graduate from Vet School at NC State. I've been practicing since then, with another detour to teach college Biology. Besides all of that, I'm a born-again Christian, attend Renaissance Faires, and am a big geek who is into comic books, sci-fi, and fantasy. I've been a happily married man since 1998, and have two wonderful children.

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Yes, I am willing and able to answer questions about veterinary medicine and pet care. First, read my disclaimer at the bottom of the page. Then email me at DrChrisBern@gmail.com. I will answer questions as blog posts, but replies will not be immediate and may be delayed by days or weeks if I do decide to answer. Some questions I may not answer due to various factors, so I cannot guarantee a reply. DO NOT contact me for emergency advice. In these situations you always need to contact your veterinarian or a local veterinary emergency clinic.

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Any advice or information given on this site is for educational purposes only. Without seeing your pet in my office, it is impossible for me to give accurate and proper medical advice. Any comments on this site are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always check with your own vet before using any information learned here or trying any treatments on your own. Any responses on this blog do not constitute a valid client-patient-doctor relationship, and any statements made should not be considered a proper medical diagnosis. Relying on any information provided by this website is solely at your own risk.

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